1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to golf, and more particularly to equipment for aiming a golf ball during a putt.
2. Background Art
Accuracy and patience are vitally important in the play of golf. The sport depends on careful alignment of the club or putter with the eye, the body to the ball, and the ball with the hole or a target line. Particularly during putting, a golfer will often agonize over alignment, checking and re-checking that his body is properly addressing the ball and that the face of his putter is properly aligned with the target line extending from the ball outward to the intended target. Often times, the target line is not directly toward the hole, but instead falls to the side of the hole, perhaps because of a rise or a fall in the green or because of some other irregularity that the golfer wishes to accommodate.
Alignment of the ball is a crucial but frustrating process. The golfer will often stoop down to line the ball up just right, putting his eyes behind the ball to visualize the line it will take to the hole. He then attempts to remember that target line, gets up, and addresses the ball, hoping to hit the ball along the target line. However, in the process, he unavoidably loses the perspective he had when he was low and behind the ball, and he may also lose the visualized target line as well. To counteract this, many players use balls with lines marked on the circumference of the ball for alignment. They will arrange and rotate the ball so that the line on the ball is aligned with the target line. This can help those players address the ball in alignment to the target line and may help them putt more precisely.
Unfortunately, it is often quite difficult to arrange the ball correctly and accurately. Alignment is ultimately limited by the accuracy with which the golfer can gauge the target line while addressing the ball. When alignment arrangements are finalized, the golfer is next to the ball and must take care to align one of his eyes over the ball and along the target line. When close to the ball and standing over it, precise alignment is extremely difficult and makes putting accurately one of golf's greatest challenges. Minor perception errors and accidental adjustments to one side or the other can cause the ball to take a much different path than along the target line. Moreover, golfers who wear corrective lenses or other protective eyewear may have their peripheral vision distorted by the optics covering their eyes, which can make alignment even more difficult.
Additionally, putting is one of the slowest processes in golf, demanding an immense amount of patience. A device that enables a golfer to quickly align his putts and gives him total confidence in his alignment at the time he addresses the ball to putt would dramatically reduce the time it takes to play a round of golf. This would let golfers play more and let golfers waiting behind putting golfers endure less lengthy alignment sessions. This will give added enjoyment to golfers and increase the revenue of golf courses due to the efficiencies of speedy play. An improved device for aiding golfers in aiming the ball quickly and accurately is needed.